1990s

In 1992, the 127,000 square foot Criminal Justice Center (CJC) opened at 305 N. O’Connor, and that same year saw the formation of the Irving Police Athletic League (PAL).

On July 3, 1993, Tactical officer Glenn Homs, a nine-year veteran, was killed in the line of duty. A drunk driver struck officer Homs on westbound State Highway 114, East of Beltline Road. The driver was convicted and sentenced to 10 years in prison and was released in July 2003 after serving the full sentence. Also in 1993, Chief Newman retired and Assistant Chief Leonard Carmack served as acting Chief of Police until early 1994 when Lowell Cannaday was hired to head the department, bringing with him many new ideas and approaches. The department began a series of changes that not only continued to improve services, but also made advancements that virtually catapulted it into the forefront of many aspects of policing.

In December of 1993, the department purchased a custom built mobile Neighborhood Contact Center (NCC), and in January 1994 a Mobile Command Post (MCP) was purchased. These two pieces of equipment were purchased with seized drug money at a combined cost of $157,000.

In April 20, 1995, the Police Athletic League building was dedicated, and in October, the department’s Domestic Violence Unit was formed. That same year a bicycle unit was established to supplement patrol efforts, and subsequent years have continued to bring improvements, changes, and additions to our department.

The department’s first “Citizens Police Academy” graduated in December, 1996, and has continued to be a successful undertaking through the years. The department currently conducts two academies per year in English and has added one per year in Spanish.

In February of 1995, with the need for an effective and consistent method of maintaining media contact and relations becoming apparent, a full-time Public Information Officer (PIO) was authorized and appointed by the chief to represent the department. The establishment of a single contact point for release and verification of information has improved the flow of information and quality of relations with the media in many respects and has involved interaction on local / state / national and international levels.

Our academy installed a computerized system which runs the live pistol range qualification courses on a computer program rather than manually. The department also implemented a new firearms qualification standard. Officers must now qualify with an 80 percentile twice a year, which surpasses the TCLEOSE mandated 70 percentile once a year. A Professional Range Instruction Simulator (PRISim) has also been installed. Purchased in 1999, this system is a judgmental skill training simulator. Officers use actual weapons with “Air-Munitions” and their hits are detected and recorded by the program. The various scenarios can branch in different directions, escalating or de-escalating, depending on the interactions of the officer. The system also has a “Shoot-Back” cannon, which is a computer-controlled system that fires nylon projectiles at the officer.